Brief Description: Regulating ATVs.
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- Persons under age sixteen must have a safety certificate when driving an all-terrain vehicle
(ATV) on public lands.
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- The Department of Licensing must create an ATV safety education training program.
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Hearing Date: 1/16/06
Staff: Teresa Berntsen (786-7301).
Background:
Current law regulates certain aspects of the use and operation of off-road vehicles (ORVs), which
include all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). These regulations include an operating permit requirement,
certain equipment standards to lawfully operate on non-highway roads, and various restrictions
on the manner and location in which an ORV may be operated.
Current law does not include safety education or training requirements for ORVs.
Summary of Bill:
- Requires the Department of Licensing (DOL) to create a comprehensive ATV safety
education and training program. The program must provide hands-on training, and the
department must issue a safety certificate to those who successfully complete the training.
Course content must be adopted from a curriculum developed by a nationally recognized
safety organization.
- Beginning July 1, 2007, a person under 16 years of age must possess a safety certificate to
operate an ATV on public land. The certificate may be issued by the DOL or an authorized
provider, or by another state or Canadian province.
- An ATV operator who has at least one year of operating experience may obtain a safety
certificate without training. A nonresident who does not possess a safety certificate may
operate an ATV on public land for 21 days a year.
- The DOL must charge $10 for the safety certificate. The fees must be deposited into the
newly created ATV Safety Training and Education Account.
- Requires persons under age 16 to be under continuous adult supervision and to wear a
helmet and eye protection while operating an ATV on public land.
- States that no person may carry a passenger when operating an ATV on public land, unless
the ATV is specially manufactured to accommodate multiple riders.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Requested on January 13, 2006.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect on January 1, 2007.